Serroth
| domains = Destruction, Nobility, Protection, Strength, War | weapon = Heavy Pick | symbol = Stylized pick inside a ring }} Serroth is a god not often seen in cities such as Venza, but he is well-known in fractious regions of the Landadel Baronies, where small kingdoms and upstart lords constantly vie for power amongst each other. Serroth is a god of battle, and of battle only. The reasons do not matter to him. It does not concern Serroth whether the fight be for power or for profit, for freedom or for law, for good or for evil. Serroth’s interest is in the conflict itself, and no more. Worshipers Serroth’s followers are most often soldiers and mercenaries, and those who desire conquest – for whatever reason – often pray to him. His clerics tend to build monasteries which double as war colleges, and the clerics themselves hire themselves out to the highest bidder as a form of worship. It is quite common for the prostitutes and serving women who follow an army to give their unwanted bastards to Serroth’s monasteries, where they are raised in his name, and trained in the arts of war from an early age. These orphans are highly sought after as officers amongst the Baronies, and some even become priests of Serroth himself. Warrior-Prophets of Serroth Serroth has favored many men and women skilled in the martial arts inspiring and revealing to them sacred strategies. Listed among the scriptures are Marion the Gold, Lok-Mollar of the Lance, and Ulfgar the Strict, among many others. It is known that Ulfgar was called The Strict because in Serroth's teachings to him, he was made to understand how drills and formations make an army maneuverable, and how maneuverable armies win battles. The Parable of Ulfgar and the Ketath Over the years, Ulfgar led the armies of Serroth to many victories. One day he came to a river, and on the other side of the river were the wild lands called Ketath. The people of Ketath were strange: they lived in mud huts, and painted themselves with clay, and wove feathers in their hair. Many times other armies had tried themselves against the Ketath, but the wild men fought madly, and always the other armies were driven back. Ulfgar was a man of discipline, and the Ketath were different from him in every way: they were wild, strange, savage. But Ulfgar looked across the river to the Ketath people, and instead of leading his army across to fight them, he dismounted and waded across alone. That night, he ate and drank with the Ketath, and he presented them with his bow and his sword as gifts, and talked with their elders, and in the morning they pledged an alliance. The original interpretation of the parable was that because Ulfgar did not assume that the Ketath were his enemies simply because they were different, he made friends out of those who might otherwise have been foes, and won greater and more righteous victories thereafter. In recent years, however, the priests of Serroth have begun to favor a different, darker interpretation: that Ulfgar manipulated the Ketath into his service by merely participating in a few foolish rituals and favoring them with a handful of baubles. In so doing, Ulfgar made pawns of the mighty warriors, and then used them to crush his true foes. The modern teaching is that the trust is the handle by which fools can be wielded. Historical Information It is not well known, but Serroth was at one time a Lawful Good god of righteous battle. Paladins marched to just and holy causes in his name, and Serroth was a force of great good. However, times have changed. For whatever reason, the moral compass of Serroth – and that of his followers – began to drift. Over the past centuries, the champions of Serroth have stopped fighting for the cause of right and have started fighting for the anyone who can pay their fees. Worse yet, it is possible that Serroth’s alignment is not done changing. There are dark whisperings of what Serroth’s clerics do when they are far afield: rumors of entire towns put to the sword and the torture and execution of wartime prisoners. In time, perhaps Serroth will become a god not of righteous war, nor even of mercenaries, but of slaughter. The change would be fairly obvious to anyone who studied the history of the Serroth, but in fact there are few who realize it. Historians aren’t likely to waste time on anything so trivial as a bunch of small wars between unimportant duchies on the outskirts of civilization, and the followers of Serroth do not generally concern themselves with books. Category:Divine Aspect Category:Destroyer